


Just Keep Swimming

by fauvistfly



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - College/University, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Pining Derek, Wet Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-18 23:04:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7334260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauvistfly/pseuds/fauvistfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is getting over his fears and finally learning to swim. He is absolutely, definitely going to learn to swim. He just needs to stop getting distracted by his very distracting swim instructor, Stiles Stilinski.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Keep Swimming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [literaryoblivion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/gifts).



> This is almost a year overdue--this birthday present was supposed to be for last year, so now I can say it's early for this year! Happy belated birthday, [Freck](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com/)! I don't even remember the prompt, but here's some Sterek in a pool. Also, thanks for naming your fic gift :D
> 
> Thank you so much to [Carrie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/bleep0bleep/pseuds/bleep0bleep) and [spellwovennight](http://archiveofourown.org/users/spellwovennight/pseuds/spellwovennight) for beta and brainstorming help. Sprinter circle is the best! 
> 
> \--  
> In this world, Derek is 18 and two years younger than Stiles.

In the end, it’s Laura who makes Derek sign up for swim lessons. At first, she’s gentle about it. Eventually, she throws a pair of board shorts at his face and tells him the class starts at 11.

Derek didn’t mean to put off the lessons until now. It’s true--he had a bit of a traumatic experience when he was younger, almost drowning. He’s not a regular at the pool, just wades when they go to the beach, so learning how to swim properly wasn’t that high on his priority list. But now he’s off to college, and one of the requirements of his school is that he’s able to swim a full lap--the university is very close to water, and they used to have regular tragedies of students drowning. The required swim test is likely not going to help students in those dire moments often brought on by drunkenness, but Derek still has to pass it to begin as a freshman in the fall. So. Swim lessons.

Luckily, they have adult swim lessons at his local pool so he doesn’t have to stand next to all the toddlers as they tear through the water fearlessly. Unluckily, the class is taught by Stiles Stilinski. Stiles is in Laura’s year--just two years ahead of him--and has been on swim team since forever. He’s spent every summer on swim and dive team or in the lifeguard’s chair. Of course he’s teaching the adult class. Even if Laura knew about Derek’s simmering crush (of course she knows; she knows everything), she could feign innocence about signing Derek up for a summer of pining because Stiles would still be the teacher. He’s the only one who’s teaching the adult class for the summer.

So Derek is about to spend his summer learning how to swim from Stiles, shirtless tan Stiles. Derek breathes in deeply and exhales slowly. He cracks his neck, rolls his shoulders, and finally gets out of the car.

Cora, lovely Cora, lets him have his moment as she waits by the pool’s entrance. She bumps his shoulder affectionately and then gives him a cheesy thumbs up as Derek heads towards the group of people for lessons. Cora knows how to swim; she’s there to work on her tan and do her best to distract Isaac, one of the other lifeguards on duty.

Exhaling loudly, Derek sidles up next to the group loosely surrounding Stiles and takes the clipboard to fill out his information. It’s a small group, around five people total, of all different ages. He tries not react when Stiles catches his eye and gives him a broad smile. They only know each other by association, never really had a full conversation, but Laura is popular and the town isn’t that big.

Stiles claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, now that I’ve gotten some of the administrative boring details out of the way, I want to get a sense of where each of you is in terms of comfort level with the water.”

Derek listens and raises his hands when Stiles asks who can float, who can go under water comfortably, all those basic questions. He tries to pay attention to the other people in the group so he doesn’t start to stare at Stiles’s large, expressive hands. Though he knows that means his face is drawn into a frown, Derek figures it’s better than disgusting fawning; he senses Stiles gets enough of that with all the high school girls on the swim team.

They finally get into the water, with Stiles pacing in front of them as he directs them to hold onto the wall and kick.

“Remember that your arms should be straight in front of you. Let the water hold you up. Legs straight, okay?”

Derek does his best to think of this as a workout and Stiles as his trainer. He focuses on keeping his legs straight and kicking, but he finds himself getting tired, his legs naturally bending at the knee to make a large splash every time. Swimmers splash a lot, right?

Stiles kneels in front of Derek and says, “Try not to tense your arms so much.” He reaches forward and taps on Derek’s arms. “You’re clenching the wall--the water is going to hold you up. Don’t hold on like it’s your lifeline.” He nods before moving onto the next person.

Derek blinks a bit, letting his feet sink to the ground. He rolls his shoulders and shakes out his arms, realizing how tense he’s been. It’s good advice, and he tries not to think about Stiles’s hand on his arm. He hears Stiles laugh a little, crouching in front of the grandma who lives across the street from the police station. Derek breathes in slowly again, reminding himself that Stiles is the teacher who is going to help everyone. He’s not going to get any special attention. With that thought, he sinks down into the water again and tries to keep his legs up and straight.

He’s getting lost in the mindless repetition of kicking when Stiles suddenly drops down next to him to sit on the pool’s edge, his long legs stretching into the water. Pounding down on his hips with his fists, Stiles calls out, "Right here. This is where you should be moving your legs, not at your knees.” He demonstrates the straightness of his legs, the toes pointed. “Here," he repeats, pounding his fists down again.

Derek tries not to stare at the way Stiles’s abs contract as he shows the motion again, but it’s so hard to tear his eyes away. There’s just so much skin, and he’s supposed to be watching, right? He forces his eyes to look at Stiles’s legs, but on the way down he lingers at the thick trail of hair right above the waistband of his swimsuit.

“Okay, let’s do it again, focusing on kicking from your hips and not your legs--no bent knees,” Stiles says as he stands again and walks up and down the side of the pool, making comments and giving corrections with a smile.

Derek sighs. It’s going to be a long summer, and he can’t tell whether it’s going to be the best or the worst.

***

The next day Stiles gets into the pool with them. They practice blowing bubbles and holding their breath underwater. With Stiles in the water and his body covered, Derek is able to focus better. He does his best all class and feels proud of himself for only being distracted when Stiles gets out of the pool before he does, his swimsuit clinging to the tight lines of his ass.

***

In just 24 hours, Derek’s victory is shot to hell because today they’re working on arms. And arms means Stiles stands in front of them to model the freestyle form, which means he cocks his elbow back and then brings it forward in slow motion, his shoulder muscles playing beautifully in the sun. Derek is staring. He’s totally allowed to stare, and he soaks it all in, telling himself that he’s just trying to be a good student. Pulling his own arms up in an attempt to copy the motion, he lets himself gaze at the play of muscles just a little bit longer. Shoulders to throw my legs over, he thinks to himself.

“Good job, Derek. Class, see how he pulls his elbow back instead of just spreading his arm? That’s what you all should be doing. You should feel your chest pulling and your shoulders working.” Stiles demonstrates again in slow motion, and Derek whimpers a little.

For the remainder of the class, Derek does his best to focus on his own muscles, hoping the constant movement will keep his mind from straying into deep waters.

(It isn’t.)

***

They’ve finally begun working on the actual act of swimming and not just the separate movements of arms and legs and breathing. Derek feels a little silly using a noodle to keep afloat, but it does allow him to work on all the other aspects of swimming without worrying about sinking. He’s getting the hang of it, feeling comfortable with the movements, and the pride starts to rise in him. Finally, Derek feels like he’s getting somewhere.

Of course, that’s when Stiles comes over and reaches underneath him to place his hand right on his stomach. “Make sure you keep your stomach up. If you don’t keep your body parallel to the water, you’ll start to sink immediately. Good job, though!” Stiles says with a bright smile before moving on to the next student.

Derek sighs to himself, trying not to remember the way Stiles’ large hands easily spanned his abs.

***

Slowly, the students remove the noodles and start struggling through the movements of freestyle. They can still stand, so no one is drowning or anything, but some people are doing more walking than swimming. Derek sees Stiles cringe-smile at one student and decides that he never wants to be the reason for that face.

Taking a deep breath, Derek pushes off from the pool wall and starts moving. Elbow, straight. Push the water back. Breathe. He repeats the mantra to himself, and suddenly he’s swimming! He’s swimming! In his excitement he lifts his head too far, causing his stomach to drop and then too quickly he’s standing. Still, Stiles is bright-eyed in front of him, cheering and holding up a hand for a high five.

“So awesome, dude! We’ll work on your side breathing, but that was so good! Just keep reaching when you’re swimming!” As he walks away, he calls out to the others, “Reach! Reach! Reach for your favorite thing!”

Derek can’t barely keep in his grin when he thinks about what he really wants to reach for.

***

Too soon, the classes come to an end. Derek can almost do a full lap, but his breathing still needs work. He feels pretty good about his form, so he’s confident he can practice on his own. In all honesty, he’ll probably improve more quickly without the constant distraction of wet muscles and large hands.

Derek starts coming to the pool, but Stiles isn’t there. He remembers hearing something about August being his time off, but Derek had felt too weird straining to hear. It’s disappointing, definitely, but at least Derek is getting better and better. His time at the pool wasn’t a complete waste, even if he had made vague plans to ask Stiles out.

They end up running into each other at Target in the Back-to-School section. Derek’s with his mom and Cora, and the cart is piled high with towels, linens, and other stuff that will never be as clean again.

Stiles has a cart as well, but it’s mostly filled with snacks, solo cups, and some random clothes. “Hey, Derek!” he calls out enthusiastically. He nods to Cora and quickly introduces himself to Derek’s mom. “Yeah, Derek was a great swim student. Hopefully he hasn’t forgotten everything already.”

“I should hope not, since he’s been going to the pool every day for the past few weeks. Derek, I’m going to go check out the sale section.” She motions vaguely to the women’s section and walks away, Cora giving him a wink before walking as well.

“So you’ve been still going to the pool? Awesome!” Stiles says, blithely unaware of his family’s insinuations. “Oh, and getting ready for school?”

“Yeah, heading up to freshman orientation next week. UBC.”

“Wow, seriously? I was almost one of the people running it! I thought I heard Laura say something about you coming, but I wasn’t sure.” He nods as he speaks, his fingers tapping erratically on the cart’s handle. “I could’ve been your instructor again.”

Derek shrugs, trying to keep his cool. He almost says something about being a teacher’s pet but bites his tongue, unsure of how Stiles would respond to his awkward flirting. Instead he says, “I haven’t seen you at the pool lately.”

“Yeah, August is my time away from the pool. I go on vacation with my dad, start getting my head back into school mode, organizing shit around the house. It’s good that you’re still going, though,” he says with a pleased smile. “Swimming is sort of like riding a bike, but in the beginning you need a lot of practice.”

Derek nods politely, even as he starts pulling away. Stiles is nice, as always, and so pleasant, but he doesn’t get the sense that there’s anything special happening--on Stiles’ end, at any rate. He starts to make noises about finding his family again, but at the last moment, he acts on impulse, calling out, “Hey, Laura is having a bonfire this Friday at our house--end of the summer type of thing. If you’re free, you should come by.”

Stiles looks pleasantly surprised by the invitation, and he says, “Oh, yeah, the Hale Summer Bonfire. I’ve heard it’s always a great time. Maybe I will--what time?”

Derek tries not to get his hopes up, knowing Laura’s parties have always been popular and thus is likely the reason for Stiles’ interest, but he can’t suppress his grin. “We start things around 5, but that’s usually the family-friendly part of the evening. I think Laura’s friends don’t start to trickle in until later, maybe 8 or so? But come whenever.”

“Sounds awesome. And you’ll be there, right?”

“For the family-friendly part, at least. Laura usually chases me out, but now that I’m going to college, maybe she’ll let me play with the big dogs,” he says self-deprecatingly.

“Let’s hope,” Stiles says with a wink. “See you later!”

Derek nods and then turns to walk away quickly, not wanting Stiles to see how he reacts to that wink. Stiles has always winked, and Derek still hasn’t figured out how to react in a way that doesn’t completely give away his crush. He hopes his mad rush to leave doesn’t seem rude, but he’s sure Stiles has already gone on with his shopping. He takes the long way back to his mom, and his blush has finally faded when he rejoins them to finish shopping.

***

By the time the party rolls around, Derek has forgotten about inviting Stiles. He’s been smothered by his mother, who is bemoaning her youngest son leaving for college (a local college, by the way), cornered by his dad for long talks (as if he’s suddenly going to become a bad boy after years of being raised by his wonderful if somewhat overly involved parents), and guilted by the piles of empty boxes in his room (he knows he has to pack, goddamnit). In these last weeks before freshman move-in, Derek has been pulled in so many different ways that he is genuinely surprised when he sees Stiles wave at him from across his backyard. Laden with a bowl of guacamole and three bags of tortilla chips, he makes his way towards the tables set up for food, coincidentally right where Stiles is chatting.

“Got you working?” Stiles says as he takes one of the bags from under Derek’s arms.

Derek shrugs before opening the bag and pouring it into the bowl that was full only moments ago. “If I’m on food duty, I always get first shot at eating. I’d rather do that then clean the mess after.”

Stiles nods vigorously, chewing the five chips he grabbed immediately after Derek filled the bowl. “Smart thinking. Does this mean you actually get to hang out now?”

Derek is about to answer yes, that he would love to chat with Stiles about whatever he wants if it means watching that mouth and those hands and the sparkle in those eyes, but before he says anything he feels four hands grab his legs from behind. He can’t help but let a small, fond smile appear on his face even if he knows it means saying no to Stiles.

“Hey, cuties,” he says as he turns and kneels to greet his little twin sisters Ana and Kayla. Derek glances up and is pleasantly surprised to see Stiles waving and not pretending anyone under 18 doesn’t exist.

“We’re ready for you to read us our stories. Only sixteen more days until you’re gone,” Kayla says as she throws her little arms around Derek’s neck.

Derek stands, one girl in each arm, and then says to Stiles, “No hanging just yet. Maybe I’ll see you later?” He nods as Ana snuggles closer into his neck.

“Of course. Yeah, man. Gotta keep up that Best Big Brother medal, right?” Stiles says, giving Kaya a quick pat on her back and then giving Derek a squeeze on his bicep. “Goodnight, girls.”

He doesn’t think he’s imagining the fondness in Stiles’ smile, but Derek knows his duty to his sisters. He hoists them up and starts heading back into the house, not letting his thoughts linger on anything but the bedtime story he's reading tonight.

***

In the end, swimming becomes something of an escape for Derek. He still needs to think about his movements and his breathing, so his mind doesn't have space to ponder what it'll be like not living with his parents, not having someone tell him to get out of bed, not having automatic company with every meal. The soothing sound of the pool, the way it glugs against his ears and slaps against his hands, makes Derek grateful that he finally overcame his fears and learned to swim. He's congratulating himself on sticking with it even when knowing Stiles wouldn't be at the pool when he comes up for air and sees Stiles waving at him. The image catches him off guard, and he loses the rhythm of stroke, kick, breathe. Because this is his life, Derek immediately gets water up his nose and starts choking on water. But before he can recompose himself and get to the wall with dignity, he feels an arm go around his waist.

“Are you okay? Of course you are. You're going to be okay. I've got you. Don't let this moment make you scared to swim again. It happens all the time.”

Stiles’ babbling flows over Derek for a few moments before he finally realizes what's going on. “Stiles? I'm fine.”

“You are. You're totally fine. I'm just going to get you to the wall and then do a quick check. Don't worry--I got you,” Stiles says with firmness as he grips Derek’s waist and swims one-handed towards the pool wall. “I won't let you go under. “

Derek finally starts to resist. “Stiles, you don't need to save me. I can--”

“I know you can swim, Derek. I taught you, remember? But you're still a young swimmer, and I--”

Derek puts his hand on Stiles’ shoulder and smiles a little. “No, Stiles. I mean I can stand.” He pulls away slightly and puts his feet on the pool floor. “I'm not going to drown, though it's good to know you'd save me if I actually were.”

Stiles finally stops and turns to look at him, though he doesn't let go just yet. Derek's words finally get through, and then Stiles blushes so fully that Derek can't help but place his cold hands on Stiles’ flushed cheeks.

“Thank you for the rescue in 5-feet water, even though I would've been fine. I had a good swim teacher,” he says with a wry smile.

Stiles scrunches his eyes closed in embarrassment before muttering, “Fuck yeah, you had a good teacher.” When he finally opens his eyes, Stiles grins sheepishly. “I guess I should've trusted my teaching. Sorry for overreacting and jumping in like that.”

“I was just surprised to see you. I’ve come here every other day since the lessons finished, trying to practice. This is the first time I've seen you here since then.” Derek lets his hands slide from Stiles’ cheeks, but he lets them rest on those collarbones he’s thought about so vividly. Their bodies are still pressed together, and he makes no movement to separate them.

Stiles seems to realize how close they still are, but he doesn’t seem to mind either. “Looking for me?” he asks, his voice not quite confident even as his words flirt.

“Yeah,” Derek says as he gives Stiles’ neck a small caress. He figures he should go for it--better now so he knows whether to avoid Stiles or seek him out when they start the school year.

Stiles bites back a smile and licks his lips. “You know, I did rescue you. And most rescues require--”

“Are you seriously going to make a mouth-to-mouth joke?” Derek interrupts, even as he moves in closer for a kiss.

“Shut up and let me resuscitate you,” Stiles murmurs, right before he leans in and presses a cold-warm kiss on Derek’s chlorine-coated lips.

Derek swallows a retort and decides his tongue can talk for him. Even kissing, Stiles is loud, and Derek loves every sound. He’s contemplating moving his hand lower when he hears the worst sound: Cora.

“Keep those hands above water while I go burn my eyes!”

***

The next day, Stiles buys pizza for all the lifeguards, and the tally for uncontaminated pool days resets to 0 despite Stiles’ argument that they were only making out (“Thanks for the interruption, Isaac”).

Derek turns red when he finds out why there’s free food, but Stiles chases the blushing with a kiss. “Totally worth it,” Stiles says as he flips off the rest of the staff.

It resets again three days later. Again two days after that, but Isaac and Cora are to blame. The staff makes a new rule that anyone who gets caught has to clean the kiddie pool after accidents. By the end of the summer, even with Derek’s attempts to move things out of the water, Stiles has cleaned up the kiddie pool an embarrassing number of times.

“I can’t help it, Derek,” Stiles says as he pushes Derek up against the pool wall, kissing him in between words. “You were so tempting all during class, so earnest and determined to learn. I’m just enacting all my fantasies.”

Derek simply lifts his legs up around Stiles’ waist and deepens the kiss. He wonders if the sound of water lapping against the pool will always turn him on. He throws back his head and lets the sun bear down on him as Stiles starts sucking his neck; his hips start thrusting against Stiles in what has become a familiar rhythm.

“Fucking seriously, guys? It’s the last day of the season!”

Stiles starts laughing into Derek’s quickly reddening neck. “Still worth it!” he yells.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Come chat with me on tumblr: [fauvistfly.tumblr.com](http://fauvistfly.tumblr.com). Multifandom tumblr with pretty faces and yummy food!


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